Marine Le Pen

A flurry of early projections and exit polls showed incumbent Macron came first with 28.1-29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen on 23.3-24.4%. The surging cost ...

Le Pen, seen as economically left-wing despite being very much affiliated with the far fight in France, has been highly focused on the cost of living. Support for Macron had jumped following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and his mediation efforts earlier this year. Most of the mainstream candidates that failed to make the runoff immediately backed Macron after the exit polls came in, with Mélenchon telling his supporters there "must not be one single vote for Le Pen in the second round." But it's an issue that his opponent Le Pen, who heads up the anti-immigration National Rally party — leveraged significantly in her campaign. A flurry of early projections and exit polls showed incumbent Macron came first with 28.1-29.5% of the vote, followed by Le Pen on 23.3-24.4%. The different projections showed different tallies but all pointed toward a runoff between Macron and Le Pen in two weeks' time, with the gap between the two not as tight as some political analysts had been predicting. French leader Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen topped the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, according to exit polls, and are set to face off in the final vote on April 24.

France's presidential runoff will likely see Emmanuel Macron face off against Marine Le Pen for a second election in a row, but the woman challenging ...

Le Pen visited the Russian strongman during her 2017 campaign for president She is best known as a member of the French far-right's first family. The strategy appears to have worked.

Emmanuel Macron wins the first round, but the run-off against his far-right rival may be far closer.

She has built her campaign around the cost-of-living crunch facing much of Europe, promising to cut taxes and waive income tax for under-30s. But in the end, the spring sunshine meant turnout was not as low as feared, at almost 75%. Mr Macron's team is already planning a series of big rallies and major TV appearances. Ifop pollster François Dabi said his company's 51%-49% estimate was the closest they had ever predicted. Later in the evening, Mélenchon activists gathered outside his campaign HQ thinking he might even come second, but it was not to be. The battle for votes now starts in earnest.

In the final round of the French presidential election 20 years ago, Jean-Marie Le Pen of the far-right Front National was trounced 82 per cent to 18 by the ...

Paris – French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen were on Monday preparing for two weeks of tough campaigning after they ...

This marks the third time that a far-right candidate has made the runoff vote of a French presidential election, after Marine Le Pen’s campaign in 2017 and the breakthrough by her father, Jean-Marie, in 2002 that shocked France. He also floated the idea Sunday night of a “large movement of political unity and action” and a “new method” of governing, which could see him invite rival parties to formally join his political movement. That’s not us.” A pivotal moment in the next stage of the campaign will come on April 20, when the two candidates are set to take part in a TV debate broadcast live on national television and watched by millions. “Make no mistake: nothing is decided,” he told cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters. Le Pen, 53, said the runoff would present “a fundamental choice between two visions” with Macron representing “division, injustice and disorder … to the benefit of a few” against her plan for “social justice and protection” guaranteed by the nation state.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called on voters to unite against Emmanuel Macron after Sunday's initial ballot showed them facing each other in the ...

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen appear to be the leading candidates in the first round of the French presidential elections, an analysis of early results ...

Surveys ahead of the race showed that a second round of Macron vs. While his ambitious plan to bolster the European Union's autonomy and geopolitical heft won him respect abroad and at home, he remains a divisive figure when it comes to domestic policies. Far-right political commentator turned presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who enjoyed a seat among the top three candidates until March according to IFOP polling, came in at 7%. While Macron appears on track to win the first round, he is a polarizing figure whose approval rating has lagged during his first term. Macron is seeking to become the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002. Twelve candidates were running for the top job.

We'll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest French presidential election news every morning. Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine ...

France's presidential runoff will likely see Emmanuel Macron face off against Marine Le Pen for a second election in a row, but the woman challenging ...

Le Pen visited the Russian strongman during her 2017 campaign for president She is best known as a member of the French far-right's first family. The strategy appears to have worked.

Critics warn she's changed her style but not her far-right values. This time though, Le Pen appears much more palatable to many voters.

But I've met Melenchon supporters who've already told me they would vote for Le Pen in a run-off. By making the cost of living her central theme, she appealed to a broader church of voters. It's now or never for her - and many in her party feel this is their moment.

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Monday (Apr 11) kicked off a final fortnight of bruising campaigning for ...

That's not us". The vote's outcome will have major implications for the European Union, which Le Pen says she wants to radically reform. "Make no mistake: nothing is decided," Macron told cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters Sunday night. But this time polls predict a closer contest. Advertisement Le Pen was second with 23.4 per cent.

French president emerges in lead but tranche of far-right voters likely to transfer support to Le Pen.

Here, the far-right candidate appeared to be preaching to the converted, as just under 38% of the 871 people who voted locally chose her, and just under 22% Macron. Mélenchon has emerged as a potential kingmaker in third place after he rose to within a few points of Le Pen at just under 22% in a surprising 11th-hour surge. He also said he would “develop” his programme after listening to the “anger and despair” of those who had not voted for him, and particularly young people’s concerns over the environment. Others in the crowd that mobbed him as he walked around wanted to talk about the rising cost of living and concerns about jobs and health. We will be discussing how to revitalise our democracy and explain my manner of governing. “I want to convince our compatriots who voted for [Le Pen’s] the National Rally or who abstained to join us. Le Pen’s greatest support came from 50 to 59-year-old voters. More than 3.2 million voters who chose other far-right candidates including Éric Zemmour are likely to transfer their support to Le Pen. It was announced on Monday that Macron and Le Pen will go head-to-head in a televised debate four days before the vote, during which they will be questioned about their programmes. “We will be speaking about agriculture and being self-sufficient in production and inflation. But more than anger I am hearing worry.” “I see the divisions and anger in the country and I hear the voices of those who have voted for the extremes, even those who voted for Madame Le Pen,” he said.

We'll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest French presidential election news every morning. “The policies that I represent are the policies ...

President Emmanuel Macron will face a runoff against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, following Sunday's first round of balloting.

BEARDSLEY: You know, she sort of avoided the war in Ukraine as much as she can. He's been a president of the rich and elites. And the third-place candidate very close to Le Pen is far-right (ph) leader Jean-Luc Melenchon. Believe it or not, he told his voters not to support the far right, but he didn't go so far as to endorse Macron. And the thing is the far left has a similar socioeconomic platform as the far right. They're against big finance and globalization that helps the elites and corporations. BEARDSLEY: Right. Well, Macron has 27 1/2 percent of the vote and Marine Le Pen 23 1/2. So it's a four-point spread. You know, basically, a populist would govern a major European nation. And this sets up a rematch for Macron and Le Pen, who faced each other in a presidential runoff five years ago. You know, first of all, the general context - French voters have moved to the right overall, and she's enlarged her base this time around. To the opposite, Marine Le Pen had a very long, solid campaign, and she kept it about bread-and-butter economic issues - purchasing power, the cost of living, which turned out to be the No. 1 concerns of the French. Here's her headquarters, where I was last night, her excited supporters chanting, Marine president. His whole schtick was about French identity and how immigration is ruining France, and Islam is incompatible with French values. French President Emmanuel Macron is heading into a runoff election with far-right rival Marine Le Pen. The two candidates beat out 10 others in a first round of voting yesterday. And then he was occupied with the war in Ukraine. He even refused to debate ahead of the first round.

President Emmanuel Macron will face a runoff against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, following Sunday's first round of balloting.

BEARDSLEY: You know, she sort of avoided the war in Ukraine as much as she can. He's been a president of the rich and elites. And the third-place candidate very close to Le Pen is far-right (ph) leader Jean-Luc Melenchon. Believe it or not, he told his voters not to support the far right, but he didn't go so far as to endorse Macron. And the thing is the far left has a similar socioeconomic platform as the far right. They're against big finance and globalization that helps the elites and corporations. BEARDSLEY: Right. Well, Macron has 27 1/2 percent of the vote and Marine Le Pen 23 1/2. So it's a four-point spread. You know, basically, a populist would govern a major European nation. And this sets up a rematch for Macron and Le Pen, who faced each other in a presidential runoff five years ago. You know, first of all, the general context - French voters have moved to the right overall, and she's enlarged her base this time around. To the opposite, Marine Le Pen had a very long, solid campaign, and she kept it about bread-and-butter economic issues - purchasing power, the cost of living, which turned out to be the No. 1 concerns of the French. Here's her headquarters, where I was last night, her excited supporters chanting, Marine president. His whole schtick was about French identity and how immigration is ruining France, and Islam is incompatible with French values. French President Emmanuel Macron is heading into a runoff election with far-right rival Marine Le Pen. The two candidates beat out 10 others in a first round of voting yesterday. And then he was occupied with the war in Ukraine. He even refused to debate ahead of the first round.

France's 2022 presidential race is down to the same 2017 candidates: incumbent Emmanuel Macron and the far right's Marine Le Pen.

In the wake of the results, there have been calls for a barrage to block Le Pen’s advancement. Populist Le Pen, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was one of the first international politicians to celebrate Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency, has attempted to soften her image and that of her anti-immigration party, by focusing on economic issues and playing to the countryside. In 2017, Macron beat Le Pen in a landslide final with 66% of the vote. While he has not proposed a replacement, allies have suggested funding would come from the state. While the war in Ukraine continues to dominate most headlines, the French media has naturally been focused on the election throughout yesterday and today. Newspapers in far-flung corners of the globe are not giving as many column inches as in 2017 — which saw a historic first round in which France’s major political parties did not advance.